Idaho Falls staff propose separate police salary schedule to fit new Workday payroll system

City staff told the Idaho Falls City Council on Dec. 8 that a technical limit in the new Workday payroll system requires pay grades to be attached to positions rather than allowing employees to move across multiple grades in a single position. An unidentified staff member leading the update said the system "will configure a police officer to be in a single grade," and that police officers had previously moved across several grades under the current general fund salary schedule.

To address the issue, staff proposed creating a separate police salary schedule that replicates the city's existing pay steps and dollar amounts for officers, sergeants, lieutenants and captains. "We're not changing any of the steps, any of the pay amounts on any of the steps," the presenter said, adding that the change is a configuration to fit the payroll system rather than a budget request.

Council members asked whether the change would affect pay calculations, vacation accruals or decimals in payroll. Staff responded that "your pay will be exactly the same. Your steps will be the same. Your vacation will be the same," and that the power division and other market-based schedules will continue to be handled separately.

Staff emphasized that the proposal does not increase pay or alter budgeted amounts and said they plan a citywide announcement to explain the change to employees during the rollout. The council did not take a formal vote on the schedule at the work session; staff framed the item as a systems-configuration update for council awareness and asked to return with any needed follow-up during the budget process.

Next steps: staff will build the separate schedule into Workday, continue communications with affected employees, and surface any future budget requests to the council if the police department later seeks pay adjustments beyond the copied steps.